Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

So, DC is taking another crack at the cinematic universe. Maybe now is the right time: the MCU is showing its age. Plus, besides Dune, I’m having a hard time thinking of any blockbusters on the way that I’m excited to see. 

Given their track record, of course, I’m not super optimistic that they’ll get it right this time. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that they’ll be making a Supergirl movie out of Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow series. 

Tom King has written some of my favorite super hero comics in recent memory: Vision, Miracle Man [EDIT: Mr. Miracle], and The Omega Men, to name a few. Bilquis Evely is my favorite working artist. Take a look at her work in SWoT or Si Spurrier’s The Dreaming, and you will find fantastical, thrilling, and lovely art on every page she illustrates. And I don’t just toss around the word “lovely.”

King and Evely’s story takes an interesting approach on the character. Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, isn’t the protagonist. The protagonist is an alien girl named Ruthye, who watches her father die at the hands of a criminal in the first few pages. Ruthye wants revenge, and contracts Supergirl to help her track the criminal across the stars… and kill him. 

It’s a straightforward premise, but that’s to the book’s credit. When dealing with members of the Super family, you need ordinary mortals around to create the stakes. Superman is never going to stay dead. A kid biting off more than she can chew easily could. 

The book becomes a sci-fi/fantasy western that meditates on violence and grief in a melancholy way that never loses all hope. The art is masterful. The story is often great, though it has some pacing issues. That said, a streamlined screenplay could be just what it needs to really soar. 

So, I don’t know if this if the right time for another comic book universe on the big screen. But I do know that James Gunn picked the right story for Supergirl’s first trip to the big screen.